- Blog
- Bios
- Boards
- Classifieds
- DIY
- Gallery
- Vendor Reviews
- Shop Weddingbee
Weddingbee boards
It depends on a lot of things - what does your household budget look like (is there a lot of wiggle room?), are you planning on completely furnishing a nursery with top of the line stuff, are you planning on taking unpaid/paid maternity leave.... the list goes on and on. What do you anticipate needing money for?
I know that I get paid maternity leave and we went with very affordable furniture ($500 total spent on nursery furniture), so it wasn't a nessesity for us to have a huge amount set aside just for baby stuff. I'm due in November, so each paycheck I set aside a bit for diapers, baby stuff (even though I know I'm having a shower), and that sort of thing.
You'll get lots of answers (some people over at TheBump wouldn't think of haviing a baby with less than $5k set aside specifically for baby) but really it depends on your specific situation. In my case, we only had a few hundred set aside, and I add to it each paycheck.
Well, we don't have kids yet, but I would assume the smartest thing would be to set aside at least $10K per child for a college fund and maybe in addition to your own personal emergency fund another $5-$10K for a 'child' emergency fund.
I think it is all dependent on the circumstances you plan to raise your baby in. For example, will you need to save for daycare or will you be staying at home? Does your job pay for maternity leave or do you get non-paid leave? Do you have medical insurance or will you need to pay most of it out of pocket?
What is your philosophy on raising a baby? Do you believe babies only need the bare minimum or all the new baby gadgets on the market? Do you want to hire extra help? What area of the country do you live in?
I'm years away from having a baby but these are all factors in how much you think you should save. Obviously it is possible to have a baby with very little money (I have friends working part-time minimum wage jobs while raising a kid) but is that what you want?
I agree with modern daisy about starting a college fund! You need to wait to officially start it until your child is born due to tax laws but it would be good to have it set aside in a savings account so you can just open an account once the baby is born.
Hmmm very interesting! You're right, there are so many different factors to consider! We're hoping that in these next few years I can save up a lot (our goal is around 15-20K) and then I would hopefully not have to work (at least the job I have right now I wouldn't have paid maternity leave). At least not right away. We're planning to have our first right when DH starts his final year of med school/beginning of residency so he will have the income/health insurance covered and will be more adjusted to the medical life.
I would like to have about 10k - 15k for emergency funds, as well as enough saved up for a couple of months of unpaid leave. My plan is to take at least 12 weeks, but I will likely only have 8 or 9 weeks paid leave saved up. We are planning to keep the baby stuff to a bare minimum.
@bloodgo1 - I would say you're right on the mark. We are pretty much in the same situation... we are planning to have a baby when hubby starts his last year of vet school. And we hope to have about $20K saved up by then. Not sure how much of an income he'll have at that point, but with our savings plus my mat leave I think we'll be able to get by! Plus my sister is having a baby in January so I'm sure she'll save stuff for me! :)
we are going to have 10,000 in the bank, we already have college taken care of (GI bill from the af), and all our debt except for our house will be paid off too...
You must log in to post.
| Visit our sister sites | eHarmony Online Dating |
eHarmony Advice Dating Advice |
Project Wedding Wedding Songs |
JustMommies Pregnancy Calendar |
Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
| User | Posts Today |
|---|---|
| Lyndzo | 46 |
| funkymunky85 | 26 |
| AshleyR83 | 24 |
| rebwana | 24 |
| mypinkshoes | 23 |
| his chippymunk | 23 |
| Ms. Salamander | 23 |
| Brielle | 22 |
| beargoose | 22 |
| kat2014 | 22 |
| User | Posts Today |
|---|---|
| BoiledPNut | 2 |
| foodnerd81 | 2 |
| bunnylovesbear | 1 |
| bebefly | 1 |
| keepsmiling19 | 1 |
| basketballwifetobe | 1 |
| MarryMeTiffany | 1 |
| KT808 | 1 |
| chastenet | 1 |
| HeyKaraoke | 1 |
Unfortunately baby time is a few years away for us, but I'm working toward paying off our school debt and then saving for having a baby. I know everyone says that if everyone waited until the perfect time to have a baby then people would barely ever have them, but how much do you think is a good amount to have "put away" for when the baby arrives?